


The Misfortune of Being Stood Up

by SDTS



Category: Uncharted (Video Games)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-07
Updated: 2016-09-07
Packaged: 2018-08-13 13:45:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7978831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SDTS/pseuds/SDTS
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After being stood up for a date, you run into Sam Drake who asks if you can pretend to be his date for the evening. Knowing it sounds ridiculous, you agree anyway. The dinner doesn't unfold how you are expecting it to & the evening might not be a bust after all.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Misfortune of Being Stood Up

            You had been stood up.

            The guy is twenty minutes late and there are no texts or calls. That’s what you get for trying out online dating, you think to yourself bitterly, as you pay for the drink you had at the bar. You had only agreed to it because your best friend had thought it’d be fun for you to try.

            Feeling embarrassed and foolish, you get off your bar stool and head over to the exit. This place is too fancy for you anyway. When the guy had suggested it, you had thought it’d be fun to go somewhere fancy. But now you just feel self-conscious, as if everyone here knows you have been stood up. Awkward and out of place, you hurry over to the doors.

            Once outside, you exhale. Okay, new plan. You are going home, curling up on the couch and binge-watching a TV show. Something terrible. Something that will make you feel better about your own messy life. Maybe _Teen Mom_.

            You are walking along the side of the building, going towards your car, when you see a man leaning against it. He has a cigarette in his mouth and is typing away on his cellphone.

            “Uhm, excuse me?” You say and he looks up, “That’s my car.”

            “Shit. Sorry,” He replies, stepping away from it, “Sorry, I didn’t – Sorry.” He bumbles as his phone chimes in his hand.

            He is wearing a dress shirt and pants but looks about as uncomfortable as you feel. In the dim parking lot lighting, you can just make out the tattoos on his neck. Even though he looks truly sorry for leaning against your car, you aren’t a huge fan of random men lurking around your stuff so you are hyper alert to his every movement.

            “It’s fine,” You hedge, skirting around him as he steps up onto the curb, “Bye.”

            “Listen, wait,” He says suddenly although he doesn’t move towards you, “Can I ask you for something? A favor?”

            “What?” You reply even though you are pulling out your car keys.

            “Did you just eat here?”

            You pause and look up, “Uh. No. I got stood up.” You admit, even though you don’t know why you are admitting something so mortifying.

            “What, really?” The man asks, his eyes widening, “What an asshole. The misfortune of being stood up, right?”

            “Sure, whatever,” You say, not even quite sure what he means, “What do you want?” You ask, losing your patience.

            “Listen, I have this dinner I am getting dragged too with a bunch of people. I’m the only one without a date. I just got out of…somewhere,” He finishes lamely, “And I don’t know many people. Could you be my date?”

            “Excuse me?”

            He is fumbling for his wallet, “I can pay you.”

            Your eyes narrow, “That’s call prostitution.”

            “What?” He exclaims and you can tell he is blushing, “No, I didn’t mean – I didn’t mean you were a hooker. Shit, I’m bad at this,” He holds out his hand towards you, “I’m Sam Drake.”

            You look at his hand. The rational part of you is telling you to get in your car and go. This night is a dud. But as you get a closer look at this Sam Drake, you have to admit he is stupidly good-looking. He looks rugged and you sort of like how he puffs on his cigarette. Okay, so he basically asked you to be his escort for the evening but there is something honest in his words as if he also has no idea what the fuck he is doing at this fancy place. You can relate.

            You think about going back home and watching TV all night, curled up in a blanket, feeling sorry for yourself. Maybe agreeing to go back in with Sam will be a total disaster but the night is already a mess.

            “Fine but don’t pay me. I’m not a hooker.”

            “Right, yeah, of course,” Sam stumbles over his words as he puts his wallet away, “Sorry. Again. I’m not very good at this.”

            “So, what, I’m pretending to be your girlfriend or something?”

            Sam crushes his cigarette underneath his foot and nods, “Yeah. My brother is going to be there with his wife. My boss is there with his girlfriend. Other people I don’t know. Everyone is sort of coddling me because I just got out of –” He cuts himself off again.

            You put your keys back in your bag. Okay, you are probably going to regret this but you have come this far. Might as well see it through. You go over to Sam and gingerly entwine your arm around his. Damn, he is buff. You try not to get distracted by how firm his arm feels underneath your fingers.

            “This is like a bad fanfic.” You mumble under your breath.

            “What’s a fanfic?” Sam asks you curiously as the two of you make your way back to the restaurant.

*

            Sam’s brother, Nate, doesn’t seem to buy Sam’s story for one second. You can tell by the way he looks at you when Sam introduces you. Even so, he still acts as if you are one of the group. Sibling loyalty, you think to yourself as take a sip of your water.

            “You know, Sam, I didn’t know you were seeing someone.” It is his boss, Rafe, who says this.

            He is sitting across from you. There is something in his glance that makes you feel as if he can see through you completely. His girlfriend, Nadine, isn’t paying attention because she is deep in conversation with Nate’s wife, Elena.

            “Didn’t know I had to tell you everything about my personal life.” Sam remarks as he takes a sip of his whiskey.

            “How did you two meet, anyway?” Rafe asks, leaning back in his chair.

            There is something about this man that makes you think he can sense bullshit from ten miles away. You don’t know much about anyone here. Sam had whispered a few things about each person as he hustled you back into the restaurant. The bartender had looked at you curiously as you came back inside the building but you tried to ignore him.

            What had Sam whispered about Rafe? You try to remember as he waits for the two of you to answer.

            “Rafe is my boss. He’s rich. Like could buy and sell us a thousand times over rich. He’s cocky. He can be really fucking annoying sometimes. Just try not to speak to him much.” You recall Sam saying to you in hushed tones as Rafe had come over to introduce yourself.

            But now he is looking directly at the two of you so you blurt out, “Library.” At the same exact time Sam goes, “The park.”

            Rafe arches an eyebrow as Sam kicks you under the table. You try to resist the urge to kick him back. The two of you hadn’t put any sort of backstory together. Sam had said he was involved in “collecting books and other objects” so you had just gone for library. Why the hell had he said park?

            “The library at the park.” Sam says in an attempt to cover up.

            “I didn’t know there was a library at the park.” Rafe replies smoothly.

            “Other side of town.” He mumbles, taking a bigger swig of his whiskey.

            When the waitress comes by, you stop her and ordered a vodka cranberry. _He can pay for my drinks to get through this mess,_ you think to yourself.

*

            “So Sam, you said you two met at a library?” It is Elena who is speaking to the two of you.

            Sam glances over at you and you fall silent. You are pretty buzzed at this point. It has been thirty minutes since Rafe had asked how the two of you met and things had only gotten messier since. Both Sam and yourself had begun to drink a bit more than either of you probably should.

            Sam is definitely a bit drunk and is nodding vigorously at Elena’s question, “Yeah, I was there to find an old newspaper clipping,” He lies, “And then I accidentally ran into her and her books went flying everywhere.”

            You try not to cringe. Really, Sam? You are pretty sure that trope has been used in every single romantic comedy since the dawn of time. You should be the one coming up with the story.

            “Oh, that’s so cute.” Elena replies with a smile and you have no idea if she thinks both of you are full of shit or not. Probably.

            “Yeah, I was just…smitten right away. Weren’t you too, honey?” He says, nudging you.

            “Completely.” You reply, trying to keep a straight face because you suddenly have the urge to laugh.

            “What newspaper clipping?” Rafe suddenly asks even though you hadn’t thought he had been listening.

            “What?” Sam says with a slight slur of his voice.

            “You said you were looking for a newspaper clipping. For what project?” Rafe asks, like a dog with a bone.

            “Private project.” Sam replies.

            “What sort of project?”

            “He said it was private.” You snap as the waiter brings by a refill for your drink.

            Rafe smirks, “Adorable how quickly she comes to your defense. If only she had been around when you are in prison, right? Would have made sure no one messed with you.”

            You had been taking a sip of your drink when Rafe casually said this. You choke on your sip and instantly start coughing. You can hear Nate snapping at Rafe for bringing up the fact that Sam had been in jail. Rafe is staring at you with a slightly victorious look on his face. What a shit starter.

            “Will you excuse me for a moment?” You stand up hastily, almost knocking your chair back as you cut across the restaurant towards the bathrooms.

            Luckily for you, the bathroom is empty. As you sit down to pee, you realize you are very drunk. Why is it you never realize how drunk you are until you sit down to pee? The floor feels as if it slightly rotating underneath your feet even though you aren’t moving at all.

            Honestly, what a mess. There is absolutely no way anyone believes Sam and you are dating. You’ve spoken to Sam directly for like four minutes. And that’s being generous. You are going to say good-bye, call an Uber, and go home. You’ll come back for your car tomorrow.

            After you wash your hands, you leave the bathroom and run directly into Sam. You collide into him and he reaches out and steadies you. His body is warm and you realize just how much taller he is than you. You have to tilt your head back to look up at him.

            “I’m drunk.” You say to him.

            The corners of his mouth quirk up and he goes, “I followed you so we can regroup.”

            “Did you kill someone?” You slur as Sam grabs your hand and leads you down the hallway, “Are you going to murder me right now?”

            Aghast, he looks over his shoulder, “No! To both of those questions!” He wavers drunkenly on the spot and drops your hand, “No, it was…complicated. Rafe and Nathan were there originally but happened to get out before me. We were there trying to find something.”

            “And what, you got stuck?”

            “Best way to word it.” Sam replies.

            You lean against the wall of the hallway. The back exit, which the two of you probably aren’t allowed to go through, is nearby. Sam has one hand against the wall as if to prop himself up. Both of you are drunker than you should be.

            “No one believes us in there.” You finally tell him because you don’t know how to reply to the fact he was in jail.

            “We just have to win them over.”

            “Win them over?” You snort, “Fine, tell me your big plan.”

            “Alright but I have something that might help. If you want.”

            You raise your eyebrows curiously and Sam looks around as if someone is going to be hovering right behind him. He shows you something in your hand.

            “Is that a joint?” You ask him and Sam shushes you, as if the cops are going to bust in at the mere mention of a joint, “Oh my god, calm down. Yeah, come on. It’s the least you can do.”

            “Is it really?” Sam says and he has somehow moved closer to you now.

            Up this close, you can see his stubble running along his jawline and down over his tattoos – which you have to admit are a little cliché but you actually like them – and you can smell the cigarette smoke clinging to his shirt.

            “You’re a mess.” You mumble although you aren’t sure if you are saying it to yourself or to Sam.

            Sam grins, “Yeah, but I have the weed.”

*

            The two of you never actually formulate a plan.

“No, you have to hold the button down. No, Sam. Oh my god. Hold it down on your face.” You jab your finger at his phone screen but Sam is laughing so hard that he can’t seem to master the simple job he has been given.

            “I’m trying!” He snorts and then the two of you are laughing again.

            “I can’t believe you haven’t ever used snapchat.” You are gulping in air now, trying not to go off on a laughing fit.

            “I think you’re tricking me and there are no filters on this fucking app.”

            Nate suddenly puts his head in between the two of you, “Sam, are you stoned?” He hisses in his brother’s ear.

            “No,” Sam replies, growing very serious as he stares at Nate, “I am stoned and drunk.” And then is he laughing again which causes you to also lose your shit.

            “Sam, this is a business dinner!” Nate struggles to keep his voice even. You get the feeling he wishes he could have joined in but also wants to look as if he is the mature one here.

            “Oh, come on,” Sam groans, “Everyone is mingling by now, anyway. I think Elena is drunk too.”

            As if conjured up, Elena appears behind Nate, “Oh my god, you guys trying to do a snapchat filter?” There is a slur in her voice which gives her away instantly as One of You.

            “Yes.” Sam and you say in unison as Nate gives up and shakes his head before turning around.

            “Just hold your finger down.” Elena commands, leaning in between the two of you.

            Sam finally holds his finger steady and the filters pop up. The three of you start scrolling through them. You can feel Rafe glaring over at you guys. Nate is probably off doing damage control. He did have a point, you think, in your muddled brain. This is a business dinner.

            But everyone at this point had left the table and were talking around the room. The entire section of the restaurant had been apparently reserved for this dinner. This left ample time to focus on snapchat filters.

            “Hey, I’m a deer,” Sam exclaims as he looks into the camera, “I look beautiful.”

            “You guys smell like a college dorm room.” Elena remarks.

            You glance at her, “Sorry.” You hear yourself say – Elena had been incredibly sweet all night to you and you feel bad for upsetting her after you basically crashed the dinner.

            “What? No. I’m pissed Sam didn’t share.” She smacks him on the shoulder.

            “Sorry. Here, make yourself wear a flower crown.” He offers her the phone but she shakes her head.

            “Nah, I should probably make sure Nate isn’t left alone with Rafe. You two pose with flower crowns though.”

            As Elena leaves, you yank the phone away from Sam, “Okay, come in close so we can take this photo.”

            He leans in close to you, “Sorta amazing how the phone just like, knows to put the flower crown on you.” He says in awe.

            You glance at him out of the corner of your eye, “I know we’re high but how long were you in prison for?”

            “Uhm, like thirteen years?”

            You almost drop the phone right on the spot, “Dude, what?”

            “Hey, raise the camera back up!” Sam protests, grabbing your wrist, “The flower crowns disappeared.”

            You try to wrap your head around being in prison for that long but you are too drunk and stoned to really think about it. Instead, the two of you take a selfie together. Sam does look cute in a flower crown and mugs it for the camera. This results in more photos being taken as dogs and then as deer.

            The two of you must have spent way longer than it felt because Nate is coming over to collect the two of you. Is it really time to go already? You were actually having some fun.

            “Really nice to meet you.” Rafe says on the way out and you know he is lying.

            “Your suit is really nice,” You blurt out because you have been thinking it all night, “It looks like it’s really soft. Like sheep wool. You could make a pillow out of it.”

            Rafe looks confused as Nate goes, “Okay, we are going.”

            He gently steers Sam and you away from Rafe and into the night air. You are fumbling for your phone, knowing you need to call an Uber.

            “Let me call you one,” Nate says to you, “Seriously. You’ll drop your phone or something.”

            “Nathan, you’re so nurturing.” Sam slurs next to you and this sets both of you off laughing again.

            Nate mumbles something under his breath as Elena comes over, “I could really go for mozzarella sticks. Nate? Nate, mozzarella sticks, right?”

            “How did I become the adult in this situation?” Nate wonders aloud as he gently pulls Elena away, opening up the Uber app on his phone.

            Sam turns to look at you. You realize two things – one, it is time to go home and two, you don’t want to go home. You have been having a lot of fun despite being stood up earlier and the rocky start to dinner.

            “Hey, I really appreciate you helping me out tonight. Although…I don’t think we fooled anyone.”

            “We really didn’t fool anyone.” You say, swallowing down laughter.

            Sam grins. It is a lazy grin that breaks out across his face and your heart skips a beat, “Well. When your…Uber gets here, you’re going home? I don’t know what an Uber is.” He admits.

            You don’t feel like explaining what it is. With your inhibitions gone due to the weed and booze, you instead go, “I want copies of the snapchat pictures we took. But I can’t get it without your snapchat name.”

            Sam looks surprised at you asking this and bites his bottom lip before going, “How about I do one better? I give you my number.”

            You feel as giddy as a schoolgirl over this and nod, “Yeah, I’d like that.”

            He smiles and moves so that he is standing next to you. Then he slings his arm around your shoulder and brings you close against him. Ahead of you, you see Rafe & Nadine driving off in a car so nice you swear you’ve only seen it in magazines. Elena is pleading with Nate to find a place that serves mozzarella sticks. Nate is just shaking his head before calling out to you that the Uber is ordered.

            “I guess being stood up wasn’t so misfortunate.” Sam finally says.

            You can’t help but smile, “I guess not.”

 


End file.
